At Crown, Sarah Breivogel has been promoted to executive publicist; Dyana Messina moves up to assistant director of publicity; and Lauren Kuhn has been promoted to publicist.

At Clarkson Potter, Anna Mintz has been promoted to publicity manager, while Natasha Martin moves up to associate publicist.

In the UK Jacqui Small, publisher of eponymous Jacqui Small imprint, will take on the additional new role of group publisher at Quarto UK (which includes Small's line as well as Aurum Press and Frances Lincoln).

The FT features an interview with Bertelsmann ceo Thomas Rabe. On his efforts to expand the company, he notes: "We were not a frontrunner; we've never been. We were probably lagging. But I honestly think that we have caught up massively in the past 15 to 18 months."

Christoph Mohn, who now represents the interests of the controlling family as chair of Bertelsmann's executive board, maintains that "the family, generally speaking, is not sentimental" about the components of the business. "In the past people told me, 'Thomas, never touch the German [book] club business,' or 'never sell the Chinese club business,' or 'you can't reduce headcount in Gütersloh.'" But "we're in the process of shutting down the German book club, large parts of it. I liquidated the Chinese book club during the Olympic Games in 2008 when it attracted less attention."

Disney Publishing Worldwide, the new owner of Lucasfilm, announced that it will continue its relationship with longtime publisher of Star Wars tie-in novels Del Rey with books that will be part of the "official Star Wars canon" and tie closely to the existing film and TV properties as well as the upcoming trilogy of films that begins in December 2015. (Earlier books were developed separately and are now considered to be in the "Expanded Universe.) Four tie-in novels will be published in hardcover and ebook editions by Del Rey between September and March.